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Never work in hospitality. Strangest things people have complained about.

746 replies

KnopkaPixie · 07/11/2024 18:30

Here's some to get us started:

"There's broken glass on this steak."
It was fancy coarse ground salt.

"I can't eat from a square plate. It's bad feng shui."

Any more?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
10
Oreosareawful · 08/11/2024 14:10

Not hospitality but retail-

A woman returns a broken laundry basket- the plastic ones you can pick up for £4/5. Admits that she dropped it, but she expects that it should be able to survive a fall. Management replaced it for her to keep her happy.

A woman buys a whole dinner service of plates, side plates and bowls etc. They are not boxed as you purchased them individually. I bagged them and then double bagged them, then offered to help take them out to her car as the shop is on a retail park.- She informs me that she is on foot, so I ask if she would like me to keep them to one side for collection later, as the bags are quite heavy (I'm a little shocked that she's planning on walking home with them) She says No thank you, I will be fine.
30 minutes later the same woman appears at my till again with busted empty shopping bags, which split open halfway home, dropping the whole set onto the pavement. She wants a refund. My manager refunded her.

End of the summer holidays, literally the beginning of September and a woman starts screaming at me that we have no school uniform left in her kids size.

Another customer ranted at me in September that we were stocking autumn clothes- she hasn't had her annual holiday yet and needed shorts. Why were they put in the sale at the end of July for everyone else to snap up?

Christmas eve at 3:50pm, - we shut at 4pm and are stopping people coming in. A man rants abuse at us because he needs to do his Christmas shopping and how dare we have homes to go to.

Lunde · 08/11/2024 14:10

Greentreesandbushes · 08/11/2024 13:01

It was her medical insurance that tried to sue, as a way of trying to dodge the hefty medical costs. In the USA they often try to apportion blame where large amounts are being claimed.

This was the case about the woman who placed the drive-through coffee cup between her legs and took the lid off while the car was driving. I think she did end up with some money in the end.

JudgeJ · 08/11/2024 14:11

Thischangeseverything · 08/11/2024 09:13

I've never heard of steak tartare before this thread. I'd have assumed it was a normal steak served with tartar sauce.

I've heard similar about carpaccio!

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 08/11/2024 14:13

Retail here and I've had the cigarette thing asked of me. 'Twenty John Players', 'John Players blue, red, green?'
'Oh I don't know!'
And then look at me strangely when I don't automatically know what they want.

I am also slightly deaf and I had to ask a woman to repeat herself the other day, whereupon she spoke verrrrry slowly and carefully (but no louder) as though I were having problems with my thinking rather than my hearing (get this a lot as people assume retail staff are stupid), and I had the very great pleasure of hitting her with the phrase 'surreptious sausages'.

And we take Scottish notes. Our cash drop system recognises them with no problem and I don't know why they all don't.

chaosmaker · 08/11/2024 14:18

Porridgeislife · 07/11/2024 21:20

Unless you’re in Scotland I’d refuse that too. Absolute pain in the backside to get rid of south of the border.

Why? It's legal tender.

JudgeJ · 08/11/2024 14:20

Lulubo1 · 08/11/2024 09:54

Worked on the front desk of an upmarket hotel.

"My friend is deaf. What are you going to do about it!?" After probing, she meant...her friend is deaf, what are we going to do if the hotel has a fire.

"It's snowing and we can't go outside and enjoy the hotel grounds. We want a refund!"

My daughter used to work in a small b and b in Edinburgh, one man checked in and gave her a list of events for which he expected her to find him tickets, eg the Tattoo, that night. She explained that they were just a small b and b and didn't have a concierge desk, however because she had made a number of contacts she managed to find him the ticket. Next day he complained that it wasn't one of the best seats! Even though she also managed a few more things off his list he never once uttered the words Thank you.

TimeForATerf · 08/11/2024 14:21

Onthesideofthespiders · 08/11/2024 08:41

Yes, so you’re burning the milk. Milk scalds. You’re drinking a burned drink.

No, milk steamed to a hotter temperature doesn’t mean burned. Burnt milk goes brown when it burns.

milk doesn’t go from tepid to burnt in one degree ffs

ScottBakula · 08/11/2024 14:28

NonPlayerCharacter · 08/11/2024 13:28

She'll never make it to Admiral with the Jupiter Mining Corps!

🤣🤣🤣🤣 very good !

Sethera · 08/11/2024 14:33

theDudesmummy · 08/11/2024 12:18

Off topic but why would you not be able to eat omelettes if you are breast feeding? I breast fed for nearly three years and ate plenty of omelettes during that time.

Guessing because the eggs aren't fully cooked there's a small risk of salmonella contamination.

SilverChampagne · 08/11/2024 14:35

Sethera · 08/11/2024 14:33

Guessing because the eggs aren't fully cooked there's a small risk of salmonella contamination.

How are the eggs not fully cooked?

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 08/11/2024 14:44

@SFHJ

We were brought up on Mac and cheese being called macaroni cheese, and my husband also thought Mac and cheese was a cheese burger. Daft sod. (Not that he's ever ordered it and complained).

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 08/11/2024 14:46

Namechangefordaughterevasion · 07/11/2024 22:55

If I was served wine with an insect in it I'd ask for a fresh glass. If an insect fell into it after id accepted the wine I'd fish it out with a spoon and finish the wine.

Exactly!

starfishmummy · 08/11/2024 14:51

HolyPeaches · 07/11/2024 21:13

This burger tastes weird” (Me and the other wait staff all took a bite when it was sent back to the kitchen, it tasted normal).

Can you take the food back, we’re not hungry yet!” (Why did you fucking order it then???)

I also received a head office complaint for greeting a table “Hi guys, how’re you doing?” as it was an American-style diner I worked in and it was part of our training to say “Hey guys” and “what’s up”? The couple were obviously offended about being called “guys”.

I'm not overly enamoured with being called "guys" (although I would never complain about it). In most cases the "guys" is totally superfluous, why can't "are you guys ready to order?" just be "are you ready to order?".

MilesOfCarpetTiles · 08/11/2024 14:51

Lunde · 08/11/2024 14:01

I don't know as I've witnessed a few of these myself. I was on holiday in Italy where the man at the next table ordered the "Courgette burger" (listed as the vegetarian option" turned out to have no meat.

... and at another place where someone complained about the "Portabello Steak" (listed as a vegan option) was a grilled mushroom. She had expected a steak in mushroom sauce (as a vegan option!!!)

I think many people just don't bother to read

TBF there are lots of fake meats now so if you don't see the "*(vg)" in tiny coloured type you might think that 'Chick'n' is 'chicken', or 'Beyond Meat burger' is meat if they're not looking out for vegan tags. So I'm slightly sympathetic!

NoBinturongsHereMate · 08/11/2024 14:53

lucyloket88 · 07/11/2024 20:26

I work in hospitality and sorry to say it but vegans and dairy allergy people are the absolute worst ! Funny how quickly they can suddenly eat meat and dairy after being a complete pain in the arse to start with !

As.someone with an actual dairy allergy, I would like to assure all hospitality staff that I hate the fake-allergy lot at least as much as you do. Probably rather more.

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 08/11/2024 14:54

Happyasapiginmuck1 · 08/11/2024 01:06

You'd hate me, my friend ordered our food at the bar, ordered me a vegetarian pie and chips. It arrived with meaty gravy poured over it. I had to send it back. If only the gravy had been in a jug they'd only of had to change the gravy.

Eh? If the venue has added meat based gravy to a vegetarian meal then that's a legitimate complaint.

SharpOpalNewt · 08/11/2024 14:57

I had someone complain that the white wine was too cold. It was a pub, not a fine dining place. Was so tempted to tell him to stick it somewhere warm for a bit but he'd have needed to have removed the pole from his arse first.

SirChenjins · 08/11/2024 14:57

Not quite hospitality but when I worked at the tourist office in Edinburgh decades ago I had a complaint about the distance between the tourist office and the station (it's next door), a complaint about the castle being built up such a steep hill, and a man who was incensed that their en-suite didn't have a shower because he "would not subject my wife to a bath" - like it was a torture akin to having your fingernails pulled out.

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 08/11/2024 14:59

Oreosareawful · 08/11/2024 14:10

Not hospitality but retail-

A woman returns a broken laundry basket- the plastic ones you can pick up for £4/5. Admits that she dropped it, but she expects that it should be able to survive a fall. Management replaced it for her to keep her happy.

A woman buys a whole dinner service of plates, side plates and bowls etc. They are not boxed as you purchased them individually. I bagged them and then double bagged them, then offered to help take them out to her car as the shop is on a retail park.- She informs me that she is on foot, so I ask if she would like me to keep them to one side for collection later, as the bags are quite heavy (I'm a little shocked that she's planning on walking home with them) She says No thank you, I will be fine.
30 minutes later the same woman appears at my till again with busted empty shopping bags, which split open halfway home, dropping the whole set onto the pavement. She wants a refund. My manager refunded her.

End of the summer holidays, literally the beginning of September and a woman starts screaming at me that we have no school uniform left in her kids size.

Another customer ranted at me in September that we were stocking autumn clothes- she hasn't had her annual holiday yet and needed shorts. Why were they put in the sale at the end of July for everyone else to snap up?

Christmas eve at 3:50pm, - we shut at 4pm and are stopping people coming in. A man rants abuse at us because he needs to do his Christmas shopping and how dare we have homes to go to.

Oh yes, I'll never forget shutting the shop up at 7pm on Christmas Eve (closing time advertised widely on huge posters all over the shop windows and the boards outside for at least a month before) to see a woman pulling into the car park and getting out with all her bags...

Aside of the fact that she ought to have known that the shop shuts early on Christmas Eve, who the HELL leaves it that late to get their food shop in?

SharpOpalNewt · 08/11/2024 15:03

Another customer ranted at me in September that we were stocking autumn clothes- she hasn't had her annual holiday yet and needed shorts. Why were they put in the sale at the end of July for everyone else to snap up?

September is fine but I've struggled to find summer clothing for holidays in the middle of summer in some shops. M&S used to be really bad for stocking the next season's clothing really early and having nothing that you might need straight away.

StandingSideBySide · 08/11/2024 15:04

Onthesideofthespiders · 08/11/2024 14:02

Who told you that you can’t eat an omelette if you’re breastfeeding?

Eggs have to be hard boiled
Consultant said not to trust the omelette it might be too runny
One of mine was in special care so needed to be super cautious

GiveMeTheFormula · 08/11/2024 15:07

"Can I get an extra hot black americano?"

Simonjt · 08/11/2024 15:08

StandingSideBySide · 08/11/2024 15:04

Eggs have to be hard boiled
Consultant said not to trust the omelette it might be too runny
One of mine was in special care so needed to be super cautious

I imagine an NHS omlette is nuked to death in the microwave

StandingSideBySide · 08/11/2024 15:09

Simonjt · 08/11/2024 15:08

I imagine an NHS omlette is nuked to death in the microwave

That’s a very good point 🤢

chaosmaker · 08/11/2024 15:10

theDudesmummy · 08/11/2024 12:32

Also off topic but I am longing for some steak tartare now. It sems pretty bad now but when I was a child my mother would buy the absolute cheapest supermarket mince, mix it with onion and crack an egg on top and we would absolutely love it.

Raw?